Just a couple of months after the draw against Montenegro in Podgorica and the victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Trieste, which, thanks to a goal courtesy of Nicolò Rovella, means the Under-21s overtake Sweden in the group standings, and sit top of their group. The Azzurrini are almost upon the start of three pivotal games as they strive toward future success. Luxembourg, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland stand in their way, as they look to book their tickets for Georgia and Romania, where the final phase of the European Championships will be played in June 2023; progression will rely heavily upon the results of these matches.

The Azzurrini currently lead Group F, sat on 17 points and three points clear of Sweden, who are second, having played one game more than the young Italian side. Italy Under-21s are ready to face their first challenge, Luxembourg. Tomorrow afternoon in Differdange (stadio Municipal de la Ville, 18:00 CEST live Rai2) as the Azzurrini will look to build on the solid progress they’ve already made. However, their biggest challenge will be to overcome the difficulties of numerous in-house dilemmas, including injuries and the promotion of former players to the senior national team. “In my opinion, Luxembourg are a team that will sit back and absorb pressure. We will need to show patience and technical ability because they won’t offer up much space. Above all, however, we may at times have to result to a more direct approach and get balls into their box and get bodies in the penalty area and take our opportunity to shoot for goal from range; this isn’t typically our game, but we may need to pull out the back come tomorrow” explains coach Nicolato in his press conference on the eve of the game.

Nicolato gave his verdict on the debuts to six of his former players: "It was a very proud moment for Club Italia, and we’re very fortunate to have a technical commissioner who believes in our youngsters and isn’t afraid to give them a chance”.

Nicolato wanted to say a word for the whole Azzurri "family": "I think now is the right to thank the hard work of all those who don’t have the opportunity to speak out like me. Firstly, massive thanks must go to our coordinator, Viscidi, but also to all the people and staff who contribute to our organisation; all the technical, managerial and medical personnel from the Under-15s upwards. These are people, without whom, many of these guys would be unable to follow their pathways and achieve great things".

 

Mancini also had a message to Italy’s football clubs, with the hope of encouraging them to focus more on their young talents. “Coaches are judged off results and not on improving the youngsters available to them; they will never put their job on the line just to give game time to a few youngsters, who can struggle to adapt to men’s. For this reason, I believe that it is essential to focus on the technical side of the game, which is overlooked far too often in youth setups, with a greater emphasis placed on tactics. It is our job to help these young people mature and assist them on their journey”.